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Africa: Subsaharan
LRA attack in northern Uganda kills 10
2004-02-10
UGANDA’S Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels attacked another village in northern Uganda at the weekend, abducting at least 10 farmers before clubbing them to death, military and local sources said today. "These rebels are becoming crazy. They attacked Ojuru village in Abako sub-county yesterday, found people who had returned to the villages to tend to their gardens and abducted all of them, but later decided to club them to death," army spokesman Lieutenant Chris Magezi said by telephone from Lira town in northern Uganda.
"They weren't too tightly wrapped before, either!"
Magezi said about 10 people were clubbed to death, but local leaders put the death toll at 15, with about four injured and admitted to Lira Hospital. Church sources said the death toll could be between 10 and 18. Religious leaders from the Lango sub-region, composed of districts of Lira and Apac, which has become the epicentre of the rebellion, appealed to the government to offer affected people more protection, warning that the rebellion could soon trigger international intervention. "Ugandan authorities have the duty to protect the entire civil population living in northern Ugandan districts, where the LRA rebels wreak death and destruction," Anglican Bishop John Odurkami of Lango Religious Leaders Forum (LRLF) said in a note sent to the government. "If the government is not capable of guaranteeing safety to the people, with its armed forces, it has the moral obligation to request intervention of an international peacekeeping force, led by the United Nations," Odurkami added.
That always works well...
The army said by housing refugees in camps, it is able to protect them against being abducted and forced into LRA ranks.
Posted by:Dan Darling

#3  Dr White, as Uganda ranks on the very bottom tier of countries with respect to corruption, the central government cannot be counted upon to defend it's citizens adequately. I agree with your idea that Uganda would be a perfect place for an active local militia. As a fellow Steve broke on 2/5, at least one fifth of the soldiers on the government payroll only exist on paper.
The only draw-back that I can detect would be that some local jack-ass, would decalre himself the supreme ruler of the local area. As opposed to have the local Rotary Club be kidnapped and beaten to death, rediscovering the medieval convention of the local barron doesn't seem so bad of an alternative.

As Frank points out, this would be a great opportunity for Rainbow Push to make a difference. Alas I think Jesse's business plan is predicated on cash flowing in the exact opposite direction.

An alternative might be to found a program called Tech 9's for farmers. We could collect all the illegal street handguns collected through the country, package them up and forward them to a local villager chosen at random. Maybe the NRA and the Brady folks could both sponsor the program because I doubt Uganda has more than muddy goat trails so the program would still represent an effort to get guns off the streets.

Maybe the UN would like to donate some of the guns they are buying up in Liberia to the cause. Shipping costs would be reduced.

In the case that no NGO is willing to help, individual farmers may have to take matters into their own hands. In my youth, I think I watched enough episodes of Gillighan's Island to be able to rig a nasty surpise for the LRA with only bamboo, cocanuts and bicycle parts.
Posted by: Super Hose   2004-2-10 11:55:18 AM  

#2  Question: does Uganda have a 2nd amendment problem?

I mean, if I were a farmer in the wilds of Uganda and knew that crazies idjits zombies cannibals terrorists like the LRA were about, I'd have an AK-47 pretty close by wherever I went. If I were behind M'Bessie the Water Buffalo plowing the field, I've have my rifle slung over my shoulder. I'd even spend some of my money ammo and get to be rather proficient at hitting the 10-spot at up to about 50 yards or so. And I'd start teaching the little woman and the young'ns to handle the family pistol(s) properly.

Didn't we go through this in our own history? Might we perhaps, oh, I don't know, CLUE THESE IDIOT UGANDAN GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES IN?

I think the Bishop should be appealing for the government to form local village militas, pass out some weapons and provide some rudimentary training. Heaven helps those who help themselves.
Posted by: Steve White   2004-2-10 1:34:39 AM  

#1  where's Jesse??? Oh yeah, he's here in So Cal trying to get convicted family-slasher-muliple-murderer Kevin Cooper off death row. That, of course, would be the Lord's work, and oh, so different, from the above
Posted by: Frank G   2004-2-10 1:20:19 AM  

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